When you sell jewelry online, there’s an opportunity to reach people with your brand all over the world. This expansive market means that there’s an opportunity for all retailers — from Tiffany and Cartier to the local costume jewelry store — to attract an engaged and loyal customer base.
The flip side of this growth potential is that there’s also a lot of competition. No matter the type of jewelry, making your brand discoverable can be a challenge, especially since attention spans are tough to capture. Shoppers have a seemingly infinite number of options to navigate their purchase decisions.
Knowing that the market is crowded, the most impactful first step that you can take in building your online store is to identify your niche. In general, most online jewelry stores fall into one or more of the following seven categories:
1. Affordable fashion jewelry.
Ranging from necklaces to bracelets, rings, and costume accessories, fashion jewelry tends to go in and out of style quickly. These pieces tend to be lower in quality and longevity but highly affordable for shoppers who are looking to make a statement.
One way to stay on top of the fashion jewelry market is to browse magazines such as Seventeen, Vogue, Marie Claire, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Cosmopolitan. Influencers on TikTok and Instagram often set the tone for trends.
Fashion jewelry tends to consist of lower-quality materials such as imitation metals (i.e. silver instead of platinum) and gemstones (i.e. cubic zirconia instead of diamonds). Designers will often base designs on higher-priced items.
It’s important to keep in mind that the fashion jewelry industry is diverse, however. Pieces may be as inexpensive as $5 or as expensive as $100. Individual items may be mass produced in factories or handmade by independent designers and Etsy shop owners.
“Affordable,” doesn’t always mean “cheap.” But it doesn’t mean “luxury” either.
2. Body jewelry.
There’s an opportunity for jewelry merchants to make a name for themselves in the world of body piercings, consisting of nose rings, belly button rings, tong rings, eyebrow rings, and more.
Body jewelry tends to be more personal than bracelets or necklaces, especially due to variations in piercing sizes and allergic reactions to metals. For instance, some people need to opt for certain types of precious metals or implant-grade titanium to avoid discomfort.
For this reason, body jewelers will often include pieces in different sizes and metal options — both of which can influence the cost. Some stores may also offer the option to customize pieces at the request of shoppers.
As an example, a single nose ring could be available in gold, sterling silver, or implant-grade titanium with a straight back, L back to the left, L back to the right, screw, or curve.
Among shoppers, there is often a greater variation in preferences due to personal factors such as comfort level, health, and piercing placement.
3. Plated jewelry.
Shoppers often enjoy the look and feel of precious metals but are unable to afford the fine jewelry price tag. One option to reach this market is plated jewelry made from inexpensive metals and coated with a precious metal layer.
Examples of plated jewelry include sterling silver coated with 14K gold or sterling silver coated with pure silver. Nickel is also a less expensive material that gets coated with a rare precious metal like gold or silver.
If you sell plated jewelry, it’s important to maintain a close relationship with your manufacturers. For one, you’ll need to be sure that there isn’t any lead in what you’re selling, as the material is known to be hazardous and could put your store at legal risk.
You’ll also need to be clear with potential buyers that the jewelry is coated and not true precious metal. Keep in mind that some people have allergic reactions to non-precious metals, so your transparency as a merchant is essential to ensuring a sense of safety.
4. Handmade jewelry.
This category consists of “made-to-order” jewelry and includes a level of customization for every buyer. The value to shoppers is that they receive an item that is unique to their preferences in terms of material, color, and size.
The drawback of handmade jewelry is that every piece creates time to produce, and production often cannot scale. For this reason, handmade jewelry tends to come from boutique retailers or individuals on selling platforms like Etsy. Made-to-order jewelry merchants tend to be solopreneurs or small business owners.
While handmade jewelry businesses are challenging to scale, that isn’t always a bad thing — there is a market of buyers who appreciate the personal touch and custom experience. Unique pieces may also command a higher price point.
5. Fine jewelry.
The fine jewelry niche consists of precious metals, rare gemstones, and unique designs. Typically, pieces are made in limited and exclusive batches to accompany high price points that can hit values upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.
The allure of fine jewelry is that the materials are rare and the craftsmanship is high. Fine jewelry tends to lpeople'sople lifetimes and becomes heirlooms for people to pass on to future generations.
The majority of shoppers may only make a few if any, fine jewelry purchases in their lifetimes due to the cost involved. Wealthier buyers may buy high-end jewelry pieces more often and may be more likely to join loyalty programs.
Shoppers often consider fine jewelry to be an investment, as many pieces become more valuable as time passes. For this reason, fine jewelry tends to have high demand and resale value as second-hand pieces.
The most common examples of fine jewelry include diamond jewelry such as wedding rings and engagement rings. People also tend to buy fine jewelry for special occasions.
6. Vintage jewelry.
Vintage shoppers are drawn to the allure of jewelry that has made its way through history and time to reach our modern era. Jewelry is especially popular and practical as a second-hand item due to the timelessness and durability of many pieces.
Vintage items have a strong appeal in the fashion industry due to items being unique, one-of-a-kind, or special. Vintage enthusiasts tend to enjoy the discoverability that comes with finding unique items.
Because vintage items are second-hand, each item may have a unique story in terms of its previous owner, historical era o,r original fashion designer. These origin stories can increase the value of each item.
Vintage jewelry consists of fashion accessories, handmade items, and even luxury items. Some antiques, particularly ones with an interesting story, have the potential to become more valuable over time.
Pricing is often on a case-by-case basis.
7. Fair trade jewelry.
One outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is that shoppers are becoming more ethical and conscious in their purchases. The jewelry industry, as with many others, has historically had human rights and environmental problems in its supply chains.
For this reason, brands with fair trade practices have the potential to make a name for themselves as socially responsible brands. Examples of conscious business practices include paying workers above-market wages, sourcing supplies directly from farmers, using recycled materials, and partnering with local communities to create a greater sense of wellbeing.
All types of jewelry have the potential to incorporate fair trade, and sustainable and conscious business practices. All jewelry companies have a role to play in creating higher standards for the industry.
Looking For Suppliers?
Jewelrykg may help you.
As the first company to propose pricing by weight (Kg), jewelrykg has a more obvious sales advantage in the market because they are the first to propose a new model of wholesale jewelry and put it into practice:
1. The product line is affluent, and the product styles per kilogram are diversified and suitable for personal use or wholesale sales.
2. All the products sold by kilograms have independent packaging, not bulk jewelry on the market, and do not have independent packaging. They are all defective products. It will not affect the customer's secondary sales or gift giving.
3. The quality of the products is good. The products sold by kilograms come from jewelry factories, which are packaged and sold at low prices for the rapid return of cash, or some products that have broken contracts. So the product is by no means inferior, and every product has integrity.
4. Complete after-sales system.
5. The products sold by kilograms are sent in random styles, and every purchase is full of surprises. The buyer can even make a wish to get her specified product included in the package sold by the pound.
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